ULV COL Justice & Immigration Clinic

On March 25, the JIC co-hosted a pro se citizenship workshop with NALEO Educational Fund and assisted more than 20 applicants with their N-400 applications.

The JIC thanks its law student and attorney volunteers for their dedication to the community. Without their help, the success of this event would have been impossible.

The Justice & Immigration Clinic is cohosting a free citizenship workshop on March 25th! Space is limited so sign up asap!

"The University of La Verne College of Law’s Justice and Immigration Clinic (JIC) has helped secure asylum in the United States for a man who said he was arrested and tortured for political activity in his home country of Uganda.

The asylum ruling for Peter Muhumuza followed four years of legal hearings in federal immigration court, during which time students and faculty from the JIC provided him with free, high quality, legal support he would otherwise have been unable to access or afford.

“It’s because of the Justice and Immigration Clinic that my entire life has been relieved,” he said. “This was my last hope. I can now legally live in United States peacefully and freely.”

The JIC provides pro bono, or free-of-charge, legal representation to select noncitizens who need assistance with matters in United States immigration courts. Law students who participate in the clinic gain real-world experience under the supervision of Professor Krystal Rodriguez-Campos."

College of Law Wins Asylum for Ugandan Man The College of Law’s Justice and Immigration Clinic helped secured asylum for man arrested and tortured for political activity in his home country Uganda.

Thank you to our guest speakers Nereyda Higuera and Andrea Garcia for last night's crimmigration panel!

The Justice and Immigration Clinic at the University of La Verne College of Law will be hosting a free virtual informational session on Immigration Relief for Noncitizen Survivors of Violence. The session will be held on November 3rd via Zoom from 6PM to 7PM and Spanish translation will be available. The event is sponsored by Project Sister Family Services & Latino/s Roundtable of the San Gabriel and Pomona Valley. Attendees will learn about the different types of immigration benefits for which noncitizen survivors of violence may qualify. You are welcome to join us for this session!

"Since July 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received nearly 50,000 humanitarian parole requests from Afghans abroad. But the agency has adjudicated fewer than 10,000 of these requests, denying 9,000, or 95%, of them, according to USCIS statistics as of Aug. 17.
Asked if the policy shift starting in October will affect pending parole applications from Afghans overseas, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, "USCIS will continue to adjudicate requests for humanitarian parole."

U.S. to discontinue quick humanitarian entry for Afghans and focus on permanent resettlement programs Under Operation Allies Welcome, which will end next month, the U.S. has resettled roughly 86,000 Afghans who escaped Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Cubans flee island's economic woes by air, land and sea MIAMI (AP) — One Cuban man endured a trek through eight countries that lasted more than a month. Another man paid a small fortune for a furtive speedboat trip. A third decided to risk a perilous passage aboard a homemade raft rather than stay a moment longer on the island.

Special report: One year on, refugees from Afghanistan find shelter but little security in US Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a three-part series on Afghan refugees marking one year since the U.S. withdrew its military from Afghanistan, ending its longest war. The seri…

"Decades of progress on gender equality and women’s rights have been wiped out in mere months. We must continue to act together, united in our insistence on guarantees of respect for the full spectrum of women’s rights.”

—UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous

Life for Afghan women after 1 year of Taliban rule 1 year ago, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Every day since, life has become harder for Afghan women and girls as their rights and freedoms have bee...

Justice for All | 2022 Spring | Voice Magazine Two hands-on legal clinics in La Verne’s College of Law provide students with real-world experience helping clients and critical lessons in self-care.

"The US has long deported immigrants based on their criminal records, routinely detaining people convicted of a wide range of offenses, leading people like Castaneda, who have legal status, to be threatened with removal.

But as the US justice system reckons with its past and various states have passed reform laws meant to right the wrongs of mass incarceration and unjust convictions, the immigration system has not caught up.

That means that across the US tens of thousands of people over the years have faced deportation even after courts have overturned their convictions, granted expungements and erased the offenses from their criminal records, legal experts estimate. And in recent years, the US government has actively thwarted new state reforms meant to fix this problem and stop deportations based on flawed convictions."

Her murder conviction was overturned. US immigration still wants to deport her Sandra Castaneda’s just one of many immigrants detained by the US for their criminal records – even when the cases were dismissed

NOW OPEN: U.S.-based individuals can apply to support Ukrainian citizens through . This DHS process provides a pathway for displaced Ukrainian citizens and their immediate families to come to the U.S.

Learn more and apply ➡️ DHS.gov/Ukraine

Professor Rodriguez-Campos with students Monique Radziuk, Joanna Rosas, and Kissy Martinez, recipients of the Exceptional Advocacy in a Clinical Program award.

Secretary Mayorkas Designates Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months.

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/secretary-mayorkas-designates-cameroon-for-temporary-protected-status-for-18-months

Secretary Mayorkas Designates Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the designation of Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. Only individuals who are already residing in the United States as of April 14, 2022, will be eligible for TPS.

https://www.fedbar.org/event/barriers-to-success-and-safety-for-female-lawyers-and-judges/

Webinar: Barriers to Success and Safety for Female Lawyers and Judges Women in the legal profession remain underrepresented in positions of greatest status, influence, and economic reward. In many parts of the world, female lawyers and judges are also subject to atta…

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today the designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/03/03/secretary-mayorkas-designates-ukraine-temporary-protected-status-18-months

Secretary Mayorkas Designates Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months | Homeland Security The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.

83,000 Afghans Made It To The US. Now They Need Lawyers - Law360 The arrival in the United States of 83,000 displaced Afghans following the military's withdrawal from Afghanistan over the summer has put stress on the already overburdened immigration system and created an access to justice crisis that Congress needs to address, attorneys say.

Afghanistan: Taliban Kill, ‘Disappear’ Ex-Officials Taliban forces in Afghanistan have summarily executed or forcibly disappeared more than 100 former police and intelligence officers in just four provinces since taking over the country on August 15, 2021, despite a proclaimed amnesty, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

⁣From the ILRC:

"🎉We're very excited to share that any students enrolled in California Community Colleges can get immigration legal services at NO COST TO THEM. or help someone find theirs at findyourally.com 🦋 ⠀
⠀
Help spread the word far and wide to reach as many of the estimated 2.1 million students attending this system as we can! 📣✊🏽"

⁣🎉 We're very excited to share that any students enrolled in California Community Colleges can get immigration legal services at NO COST TO THEM. or help someone find theirs at findyourally.com 🦋 ⠀
⠀
Help spread the word far and wide to reach as many of the estimated 2.1 million students attending this system as we can! 📣✊🏽

Join us and Immigration Film Festival on Sunday, 10/17 📅

Our Regional Director for Legal Services, Priya Konings, will discuss child migrants and the trauma they experience when they're forced to flee to seek safety and protection.

Register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UyYHx0iySlKhkU0X9eDfhA

Without attorneys, it is all but impossible for unaccompanied children to navigate the complex and adversarial U.S. immigration system. Yet year after year, most of these children, including those as young as three and four, are unrepresented—an ongoing due process crisis.

We explain why access to counsel is so critical to ensuring the safety of unaccompanied children fleeing danger.

Read now: https://supportkind.org/resources/legal-counsel-for-unaccompanied-children-is-essential-to-due-process-and-government-efficiency/

IRC offices across the U.S. are assisting newly-arrived Afghans, including those who worked with the U.S. in Afghanistan — and you can help.

Here are all the ways you can make in your community. 👇

Share this post to help spread the word and get involved by visiting: https://www.rescue.org/article/how-help-afghans-your-community?edme=true

"Refugee advocacy organizations and some of Biden’s fellow Democrats say the chaos was preventable, that they have been warning the administration for months to move faster on visa processing and evacuations. It further deepens their distrust after Biden’s decision in May to keep overall refugee admissions at the historic lows favored by Trump, a decision Biden reversed following an outcry...

According to the State Department, about 20,000 Afghans are now at some point in the process of applying for Special Immigrant Visas, which are designed to give Afghans and Iraqis who helped the United States in its wars a path to resettle in the United States. The process, as dictated by Congress, is cumbersome and can take as long as three years. Visa recipients’ family members are eligible to travel with them, so advocates estimate 70,000 or more Afghans are waiting to move with the program."

‘It’s a tragedy and it was completely avoidable’: Immigration advocates blame Biden for Afghan refugee mess - The Boston Globe A defining image of the first year of Joe Biden's presidency could be of Afghans clinging to the landing gear of a departing US military plane as his administration wound down the country’s 20-year war without a clear plan to safely evacuate tens of thousands of citizens.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-18/law-used-to-prosecute-migrants-in-u-s-struck-down-as-racist

Law Used to Prosecute Migrants in U.S. Struck Down as Racist An almost century-old federal law that makes it a crime for deported migrants to re-enter the U.S. was found unconstitutional by a judge who said its passage in 1929 was motivated, in part, by prejudice against Mexicans and other Latinos.

"Nothing in the law of the United States limits it to these two narrow options for responding to the urgent protection needs of the Afghan people. The Immigration and Nationality Act provides a mechanism to admit individuals “for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit,” a process referred to as “humanitarian parole.”"

Op-Ed: The U.S. isn't helpless. It could take in 150,000 Afghan refugees Americans owe them more than sympathy.

Do you or someone you know have DACA status that is set to expire within the next 6 months? If so, don't miss out on NWIRP’s DACA renewal clinics scheduled for the month of September! Our clinics are completely virtual and free. Call the DREAMLine (855-313-7326) between the hours of 9:00 am - 5:00pm Monday through Friday to request a spot.

Thrilled to share the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved my motion co-authored by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl to move forward on waiving citizenship requirements for Los Angeles County employment.

Learn more at:
https://hildalsolis.org/building-more-diverse-inclusive-county-workforce-los-angeles-county-approves-motion-waive-citizenship-requirements-la-county-employment/